CatDog Man

I just got back from Dog 30 after taking pictures of the two kittens Scott has up for adoption. They are adorable, young and a little freaked out by all the changes in their tender  lives.

Scott is is the proprietor of Dog 30 on 1025 White Street, close to Truman. He is a dog lover who owns two troublesome canines – an 11 year old mini-poodle and an 18 month old pomeranian. Scott has successfully arranged the adoption of over 60 cats in the last 18 months or so right out of the store. He sells specialty dog and cat food, toys and all manner of fancy animal dress because, after all, this is Key West. The stuff he sells is not the ordinary but Scott does his homework on the products he sells.

“I have never had a food recall in the two years I have been in business.” He said when asked about the food quality. He hunts for deals on what he buys but never compromises on quality.

And he doesn’t make a dime on the cats he adopts out. The modest adoption fee goes directly to the rescue agency who bring him the cats – usually Forgotten Felines or Stand up for Animals.

You can ask Scott anything about pet care and he often serves as a sort of ad hoc referral service, putting people together with resources that are often hidden or difficult to access, particularly to tourists or newcomers to Key West.  But be prepared because Scott is never without an opinion and he is not opposed to risk losing a customer who may have opposing views on animal care.

I consider myself privileged to be allowed to pet the animals he houses. After cuddling the male, (Scott would not let me touch the female -“too scared”), I asked him how they were faring while a couple of customers wandered around, looking at merchandise for sale. From over my shoulder, I heard cooing and clucking and, just as I suspected, someone had spotted the kittens.

“Cat lover?” I asked

And a tall guy launched into an explanation of how he had thought he didn’t like cats until his girlfriend brought one home from the shelter.

“This cat really is special,” he said. Then he qualified his affection by saying how doglike this cat was and I smiled to myself. I had heard it before.

This is a man in denial who has gone to the other side. Whenever someone claims that a cat has doglike qualities, the countdown is on. It’s just a matter of time before they give themselves over to full-blown cat adoration.  Scott asked him a few questions about where he was from, did he live here full time, etc and thus began the kind of easy banter that is common at Dog 30, brought about by the shared affection we have for our pets.

The tall guy recited a harrowing tale of his cat’s narrow escape from certain death. To save his life, the vet had to amputate one of his legs, but the good news is that the kitten was so young that he would have had no memory of having four limbs. The even better news for this lucky cat is that he had two people in in his corner who had nothing but admiration for their fabulous three-legged friend.

This is a town of animal lovers. You can see it in coordinated efforts to help animals in distress. Last week four people came together to save a small black cat whose muzzle was swollen. One canvassed the neighborhood to see if she could find his owner and when she could not, she caught the cat. A second person agreed to pay for discounted veterinary services. A third transported him with a few other cats  (this woman is a hero in her own right – more on Gwen at a later post) to a humane and generous vet in Marathon and a fourth agreed to put him up for adoption once he was cleaned up. That fourth man is Scott of Dog 30.

I have seen everything from feral kittens to a full grown gigantic Norwegian Mountain cat in the roomy three-storey cage toward the back of the store. Once Scott makes a commitment,they are there for however long it takes to find a permanent home. If you go to the store often enough you can watch them visibly relax from day to day in their temporary home, replete with cat toys, snacks and a pristine litter box from which I have never detected even the slightest odor.

Meanwhile someone else hoists a large bag of dried food onto the counter and comments on  advice Scott had given her on how to wean her dog from a terrible diet.

Someone else came to the counter with a red leash and a designer dog bowl.

“So you’re taking the plunge., Scott said. You finally got the dog.

The banter continued while I wandered off to the side to look paintings around the store.

When I turned from the far wall, I realized how close the gigantic cage is to the counter.

The two kittens in the three story cage listen to human voices all day long, with periodic treats and exercise and attention from animal lovers shopping for their pets. Seeing the cats and kittens in the large cage is something I look forward to when I shop for catfood and treats. I know that these cats are amongst the lucky ones who will find great homes, mostly through word of mouth. It makes me happy to see the large blinking eyes and the triangle heads of these adorable kitties.

After splurging on a package of dried wild salmon treats for my cats, I took one last look at the small kittens. Scott nodded silently as I left. The tall guy was still there recounting how he had to clean out the vegetable drawer of his fridge for his three-legged cat.

“The cat likes to sit there and watch us cook, so we have to keep the door open until we finish . . . ”

Dog 30 Key West * 1025 White Street * 305 296-4848 * Mon-Fri 9-6:30 Sat 9-5